California Baptist University
USF Invite
CBU Men Win the USF Invite to Begin the 2026 Season; Women Place Fourth
9/4/2026 5:57:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--- The California Baptist University cross-country team opened its 2026 season on Friday afternoon as it competed in the USF Invite in San Francisco, California, at historic Golden Gate Park.
The men would come out hot, winning the team title with 28 points and having eight of the top 25 runners, including the individual champion. The women would also have a nice showing, placing fourth in the race.
The men would start the afternoon in the 8K race with 14 men racing for the blue and gold in their Big West debut. CBU would be without the services of several of their top runners for the race, including Pedro Marin, Gabriel Guzman, and Itumeleng Ngxabazi, but would still manage to not only win the race but win it handily. JUCO transfer Yemane Mulugeta was the star of the show for the Lancers as he sat out in the front pack for the entirety of the race and would pull off a nice kick over the final couple of hundred meters to win the individual title with a time of 23:52.8 in his Lancer debut.
Not far behind Mulugeta was another newcomer to Sean Smith's crew, Ulises Loza, who would place fourth, followed closely by Manuel Rojas in fifth. Roberto Castro would be the Lancer's fourth finisher in eighth place, while true freshman Luke Lopez would be the final countable scorer in 17th. The top 25 of the race would also include three more Lancers with Lorenzo Riba, Nicolai Martino, and Aiden Aldana rounding out the top group for CBU.
On the ladies' side, it would be a 6K race to begin the season, as they would be nearly full strength to start the season. As a team, the Lancers would place fourth overall in the competition behind host San Francisco State and Cal with a total of 120 points. Junior Helena Mees would be CBU's top scorer, finishing in eighth place at 21:04.08. Making her Lancer debut, Keely Bradle would be impressive with a 14th-place finish, while Ava Dyck and Karolina Bliujute would both finish inside the top 25 of the race. CBU's final countable scorer was Kaitlyn Reyes, who finished in 29th place.
NEXT: The Lancers will next compete at the UCR Invite and John McNichols Invite on September 19.
